Winter storage condensation protection?

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Jug
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Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

My garage isn't heated, it has single skin walls, and is damp as hell in the winter... :(

It's just condensation that is the problem, the air warms up, the bikes don't, they just sit there and start to drip.. :((

What do you do about this?

Last year I took away the blanket covers as they were holding the damp and started to smell a bit mouldy.
I then coated the bikes in WD40, or 3in1 oil (from a spray) but it's a bit messy.

Has anyone bothered to try and heat the bike?
I've just found these whilst searching
http://www.cosy-bike.co.uk/

I'm not £160 (per bike) bothered about this problem however.. :mrgreen:

Then there is the vacuum bags..
£45 for the bag and £15 for 3 crystal packages to keep it dry in there...
I could maybe stretch to that...

I've also mused about putting a tube heater under each bike, and a light breathable dust sheet over it..
Breathable covers are about £20 each
1ft 40W tube heater £18 each
This would work I think as I just need to stop the bikes being the coldest things in the garage..

So, what do you think, or do about this please?
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MellowYellow
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by MellowYellow »

De-humidifier, get lots of free 'distilled water' as well.

Also will generate a tiny amount of heat. Must remember to empty it.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Bullet »

My bikes have a nice storage container to reside in so dont have those issues
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Jug
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

I'm not sure about using a dehumidifier as the garage has lots of vents. I think it would just be a 400 watt waste of electricity for me.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by badgerKDD »

They, dehumidifiers, get bloody costly if you are running them constantly though. Consider hot blankets ( bed blanket thingy's) you can set them low and drape them over the bike. Put an old blanket over the whole bike then a bike cover over the lot. You could also put them on a plug in timer so they only come on for nighttime. Cheaper to buy and run than a dehumidifier.

Alternatively, look at insulating your garage. Will probably cost a couple of hundred quid in total, but it does mean the whole garage will be drier, so saving not only your bikes, but tools and any other stuff you choose to store. You'll need some batten, kingspan sheets and then plastic sheet or thin ply/ mdf to cover it all in. Should only take a weekend for an average sized garage.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Gimlet »

Edit: Badger beat me to it.

Get the garage nice and warm with a heater on a dry day and with the bike clean and dry spray it all over with ACF50 and stick it in a vacuum bag. Won't matter how cold or damp the garage gets afterwards.

All very well if you don't want to ride the bike again till spring but a pain if you like the odd winter ride if the weather's fine.
Alternatively, insulate the garage. Assuming there are no actual leaks, the damp is condensation because the single skin walls never get above dew point. Just 25 mm of PIR (Cellotex) insulation foam on the walls and ceiling will transform the climate inside. As long as you don't introduce moisture into the interior, say by putting away a wet bike, the air will stay dry pretty much whatever the temperature. Batten the walls out with a strip of DCP behind the battens or they'll rot, and fix the insulation over the top.

If you stick a dehumidifier in it as it is you're fighting a losing battle. You'll use loads of electricity and produce buckets of water without making any progress. Dehumidifying now and again when the walls are insulated and it'll stay bone dry.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Ruffian »

Lots of kitty litter or bags of silica gel to absorb the most ure.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by billinom8s »

I blocked most of the gaps in my garage, underlay and carpet on the floor, bike up on stands, cotton sheet over the bikes and of course - go for a ride or at least run one of them up to temp every couple of weeks.
Also, open the door slightly when I'm working in there.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

billinom8s wrote:and of course - go for a ride or at least run one of them up to temp every couple of weeks.
I'm the opposite school on this one. I put the bike away and don't start it until I intend to actually go for a ride, which as I don't ride over winter means the bikes stay off for 5 months or so. I think anything short of actually riding for 20 mins (or so) is just adding condensation and blow by gases into the crankcase. I think it takes a proper journey to adequately clear these.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by billinom8s »

So you're happy to let parts of the engine sit there with no oil circulation or movement for 5 months?

Mine get moved around so as not to get flat spots on Tyres or bearings (common cause of head bearing MOT failures on bikes when they come future of hibernation).
Up to you though.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

Yes. Years ago I use to feel the need to start my bike at least once a month but then I read some guides and thought about it a little and came to the following conclusions/assumptions....

Almost every guide you read online states to not keep running the engine unless storing for years, but even then it's debatable whether to do it or just use fogging oil in the bores (which I don't do), or literally fill the whole engine with cheap oil.

You mention the oil circulation, here's my take on it.
Most of the oil settles (drips down to the sump) within the first hour after shutdown. More will accumulate afterwards but I seriously doubt there'll be anymore drip down after 24 hours. You leave yours for 2 weeks.. what's the difference between 2 weeks and 5 months in terms of what's happened in the engine?
I've gone into an engine of mine after it has been stood for months and everything looked pretty coated in oil. Oil has a chemical attraction to metal, synthetic even more so. Castrol Magnatec's ability to stick to your engine was nothing special to Castrol, all engine oil does it. Oil also gets trapped in cavities, especially in and around bearings. So I just don't see any real difference between 2 weeks, 1 month or 5 months.

It's the cold starts that are the worst and most damaging to an engine. After 5 months your engine will have had to endure roughly 10 cold starts whereas mine will have only had 1.
Then there is the gas blowby and condensation issue, I don't think idling and blipping the throttle is enough to adequately clear the build up from running the engine, but that's just opinion.
Plug fouling - I'm not sure how much bike engines suffer from this but extended idling can foul plugs to the point they need replacing. I read TL1000's were suppose to be suffer from it.

Flat spots - I will slightly over inflate the tyres, just to help them stay in shape. I think it's not so much being stationary (whilst loaded) that could cause a flat spot, but allowing it to sit whilst under inflated. However I have no issue with lifting a bike off the ground to protect its tyres, and if mine had good tyres on I'd be tempted to do so.

Head bearings, only ever had one fail and that was on my DRZ. It was actually due to the grease getting waterlogged due to river crossings and jet washing. I now use waterproof grease and repack regularly. If the bearings have good grease coverage & healthy (dry) grease then no issues should arise from them simply resting in the same position for an extended time.

So that is my considered opinion on storage. Feel free to educate me if I'm doing it wrong. :)
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Gimlet »

Ride it indoors. You can buy a rolling road dyno for £20,000. Stick a big screen in front of you and you can re-live last year's Go-Pro vids without leaving the house. Problem solved.
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by ptolemyx »

Retire from work then you can ride when the weather suits you 8)
In the last 12 months I've done around 7000 miles on the bikes of which 2000 or so are winter rides. When the bikes are laid up for a few weeks they're in a warm workshop with a dehumidifier which costs peanuts to run. And, as an aside, I would never use an Optimate......
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

ptolemyx wrote:Retire from work then you can ride when the weather suits you 8)
I have and I do. 8)
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Re: Winter storage condensation protection?

Post by Jug »

1st real test today and so far so good. 8)

Went into the garage just now and sure enough there is condensation on my filing cabinets and my DRZ is almost dripping there is so much on it. This is to be expected when we suddenly move from a cold spell to a warm one, especially as it's rained so much recently, with more to come... :(

Checked the sensor on my bike tent and it's 90% humidity in there, stuck my head in for a visual and sure enough my two roadies are nice & dry. :D
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